After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War, the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers must assemble once more in order to undo Thanos’ actions and restore order to the universe once and for all, no matter what consequences may be in store.

Endgame is hugely ambitious, ridiculous, over-the-top superhero filmmaking and I loved it. And that elusive answer? Well, as it turns out you decide NOT to follow anything – because despite its close connection to Avengers: Infinity War (originally the film was titled Infinity War part 2), the eminently entertaining Endgame is a different sort of movie.

Not completely different, of course – it picks up more or less exactly where the first film left off, features a considerable number of the same actors and has a few key scenes that echo those from the earlier film – but as an artefact, Endgame is a more elaborate and complicated coda to the earlier film.

t achieves this separation partly by refocusing on characters who were either entirely absent or underserved in Infinity War – after his absence was so noted in Infinity War, the very first character we see this time is Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye – and partly thanks to its more episodic storyline, beginning with the Avengers’ attempts to undo the actions of Thanos (Josh Brolin) but then veering off in very strange directions, before tailing together again for one final, CGI budget-stretching clash.

And it’s here that we hit some trouble. As ever, it’s difficult to discuss this film without discussing plot elements some might consider off-limits, and this is definitely a movie best enjoyed without too much prior knowledge.

However, I think it’s fair to say that an encyclopaedic knowledge of Marvel movies will be helpful when watching Endgame, if not absolutely essential.

At the very least, you’ll definitely need to have seen Infinity War, but the first Avengers movie, Guardians of the Galaxy and even Thor: The Dark World have considerable influence on the challenges faced by our heroes this time around, and the emotional beats of the final 45 minutes or so definitely hit harder if you’re familiar with the eleven-year, eleven-franchise build-up.

Sometimes, Endgame hits you over the head with this unique multi-film legacy, stuffing its cast with surprise cameos, callbacks, new takes on old scenes and reminders of what came before, but ultimately it’s hard to begrudge it its tapestry of influence.

What other movie franchise has achieved this TV-like build-up of storytelling, characters and ongoing conflicts? And why shouldn’t they show that off after so many other extended universe franchises have crashed and burned – especially when it’s so entertaining?